Common Ground
How to be a style setter and do your part for the planet in one step: Shop here. On a recent scroll through their site, we spotted basically mint-condition Nike LeBron 9s from 2011, unworn Yeezys from 2018, and nearly new, hard-to-find green Rick Owens for Adidas sneaks for $230. 134 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, commonground12.com.
Philly Zoo at 2
If being at home with your kids 24/7 has changed your attitude toward screen time, it’s okay. Allay your guilt (if you still have any) by registering for one of the many local kids’ classes that have popped up on YouTube and across social media. See the full write up at Virtual Classes. facebook.com/philadelphiazoo/videos/?ref=page_internal.
Amelie’s Bark Shop
At Amelie’s Bark Shop, the customizable coconut flour birthday cakes are almost too pretty to eat, but that didn’t stop our taste-tester from diving face-first into the icing. (Bonus: They deliver!) 1544 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147, barkshopbakery.com.
Omar Tate
Sometimes, a new chef will arrive in Philly and bring an unmistakable energy — a sort of hyper-focused intentionality, a sense of I’ve got big plans for this city. Omar Tate was born and raised in Philly, and he worked in some of the city’s most ambitious kitchens before leaving for NYC to hone his culinary career. As he wove his way through kitchens, following the well-trodden career path of the modern professional chef, he began to explore and amplify Black American foodways — their tragic history, their uncertain future, their cultural complexities, and their constant erasure from the culinary pantheon. Honeysuckle — his NYC pop-up restaurant-turned-takeout operation — was the physical manifestation of his particular brand of culinary activism. Meals began with a glass of “Honeysuckle Red Drink” (his take on Kool-Aid, a staple of his childhood), and the to-go bags included samples of his own poetry. The coronavirus crisis brought him (and Honeysuckle) back to Philly, and he has big plans for this city — particularly in West Philly, where he’s envisioning a community center for which food will, of course, be the anchor. Follow @honeysuckle_projects on Instagram for information on future dinners and pop-ups. instagram.com/honeysuckle_projects.
Nok Suntaranon
She’s the chef Philly needed before we even knew we needed someone like her. In the Before Times, she opened Kalaya, a heartfelt Thai BYOB where the kitchen scratch-made everything on an unapologetically authentic menu. In the dining room, she was an undeniable presence, seeming to know everyone who’d ever eaten a meal there and exactly what they needed most. And then, when the plague came, rather than retreating or folding, she kept Kalaya open to serve local industry workers for free. In a moment that sometimes seems woefully short on heroes, she is ours.
Le Caveau
When the PLCB temporarily closed all its stores, Philly wine shops stayed open and kept us drinking and drunk during the apocalypse. And they deserve all the attention in the world. 614 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, lecaveaubar.com.
Huda
When you get that first whiff of their sweet house-made milk buns, when you sink your teeth into the grilled swordfish or the fried maitake or the soft brisket, you’ll understand full well how Yehuda Sichel’s Center City sandwich spot is basically a chef-owned upscale restaurant disguised as a fast-casual sandwich shop. 32 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, hudaphl.com.
Primavera Fund
This arts org, named for former longtime Philadelphia Youth Orchestra music director Joseph Primavera, provides mentorship, instruction, instruments and more to promising young, local classical musicians who otherwise lack means. “If you told me years ago that I would be traveling to Vancouver, Canada, and being a guest performer at a TED Talk conference, I wouldn’t believe you,” says violinist Akili Farrow, who in 2018 toured with the National Youth Orchestra of the USA. primaverafund.org.
Cruel World Vintage
There’s nothing like a good vintage t-shirt, and there’s no such thing as too much merch. At Cruel World Vintage, a highly curated collection of vintage clothing is available to suit every nostalgic mood. From Whitney Houston tour memorabilia to dark-wash Levis 501s, you’ll be thrown back to your chosen decade in a flash. Shop online, or email to make an appointment at their private West Philly location. shopcruelworld.com/shop.
Lucky Snake
Philadelphia mega-developer Bart Blatstein thinks big. Really big. So it’s no surprise his new arcade inside Showboat, the Atlantic City property he bought for pennies on the dollar, is big. More than 65,000 square feet big, in fact. You’ll find all the arcade classics (we spent way too long on Frogger one recent summer day), mini-bowling lanes, Skee-Ball and other Boardwalk-style action, vintage pinball, a gamer’s room for those into Minecraft and Fortnite, the world’s largest Pac-Man, and an absolutely dizzying array of virtual reality games, putting all the other arcades at the Jersey Shore to shame. 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, theluckysnake.com.
Ready-to-Drink Cocktails
Lansdale’s Boardroom Spirits founder Marat Mamedov says he noticed the rise of malt-based seltzers, knew canned cocktails would be the next big trend, and started canning a Moscow Mule. Made with the distillery’s Brazilian-ginger-root-infused vodka, the effervescent drink is not too sweet and totally refreshing — a tough balance to strike in a can.
“When you have a clean canvas to work with, which the vodka offers, you can let the other flavors shine through in a bigger manner without off-putting notes,” says Mamedov.
ALCO, one arm of Kensington-based New Liberty Distillery, canned classics like vodka soda and gin and tonic with the brand’s own spirits plus fresh ingredients — tonic from century-old soft-drink company Natrona Bottling Company and real lemon and lime juices.
Others in Philly didn’t go so far as to can their concoctions, but they found creative ways to get them into eager drinkers’ hands this past year (well, while to-go cocktails were still legal), including Paul MacDonald at Friday Saturday Sunday and Eddie Adams, head bartender at Bar Hygge. Drawing on the ingenuity that makes them stand-out drink-makers even when we’re not in the midst of a global pandemic, both bartenders figured out how to keep the cocktails coming.
Adams made a steady stream of seasonal punch, which he offered in single-serving pouches or large-format glass bottles. Those came with a bottle of club soda plus a special mix of raw sugar, salt, lavender and coriander so you could rim your glass at home — a fancy touch in not-so-fancy times.
At FSS, MacDonald didn’t limit himself to any specific cocktail but instead bottled (or poured into a single-serving plastic cup) pretty much everything on the menu, except, he says, for the swizzles, which rely on packed-down pellet ice, and the egg-white drinks, which depend on that freshly shaken texture. “Fulfilling off-menu or bartender’s-pick requests has always been a big part of our cocktail program, so I did my best to keep that up when possible,” MacDonald says.
A grateful, slightly tipsy city salutes these libation innovations (and hopes the politicians in Harrisburg get their heads out of the cooler long enough to sign a permanent to-go-cocktail bill).
Artistic Pools
It’s hard to spend a few minutes on the Artistic Pools website and not walk away thinking, “Why don’t I have a pool?” If you’re trying to scratch that itch, look no further. Designs here stretch from tiny 14-footers all the way to 45 feet. 2312 Wallace Boulevard, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077, artisticpoolscorp.com.
Bánh Bèo Chén at Gabriella’s
Imagine an open-face dumpling — a rice cake topped with minced shrimp, crispy pork skin, mung beans and scallions. Imagine it nestled and steamed inside its own small, shallow bowl. Now imagine 10 of them being paraded out of Gabriella’s kitchen on a giant platter for you and all your friends. The dream, right? Yeah, that’s the dream. 1837 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148, gabriellasasian.com.
Expect Lace
Shaw Lewis launched Expect Lace to provide an inclusive, safe space in which to shop for intimates. The store carries sizes from 30A to 42J, whether they’re fancy underthings or workhorse basics. Also on offer: sequined one-piece swimsuits and travel-size vibrators. 4403 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19127, expectlace.com.
Ferrarini & Co.
Ferrarini & Co. only accepts a few projects every year, prioritizing what matters most to each homeowner. You won’t just cook in your kitchen — you’ll actually enjoy it. 110 South 20th Street #202a, Philadelphia, PA 19103, ferrariniremodeling.com.